# What are Soil Morphology, Classification and Survey? Soil Morphology, Classification and Survey are three intimately related sub-disciplines of soil science. They are used one after the other:
1. DESCRIBING and MEASURING soil properties in one or several places (for instance its physical, chemical and biological characteristics, or its internal organisation). Although each example is related to another "Soils" sub-discipline, the overall process is often related as "SOIL MORPHOLOGY"
2. Once soil properties have been measured, it is possible to try to interpret them: What are the main traits of the soil morphology? How does behaves this soil (water flow, etc.)? How the soil has been formed (that is its "pedogenesis") and on which parental materials? As there are infinite variations in soil properties, soil scientist often CLASSIFY soils in CATEGORIES/CLASSES. They have built CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS that operates at various scales: international, national or regional.
3. What often interest farmers, agronomists or soil scientists is usually not a "local" description, but a more "global" view of soil (at the plot or the region scale): It is the soil MAPPING/SURVEY process. Not only soil mapping does rely on soil classification to present the survey results in a readable way, but it also involves a complex "interpolation" methods, aiming at predicting how is the soil in unsampled location.
# Dmoz users will find here resources on each of the above mentioned topic:
- Guidelines for soil description (see Soils sub-categories for more specific soil properties);
- Reference guides for soil classification;
- Reference guides for soil mapping;
- Soil survey information: Soil and soil properties maps and databases;
- etc. etc.
These reference are often available for various countries (and international institutions).
# It is good to keep in mind that soil survey/maps often serves as basis for DERIVED MAPS of specific soil properties, for various purposes: Soil aptitude to cultivation, waste amendment; Soil susceptibility to water logging or erosion; Aptitude of the soil to degrade mobile pollutants (or its contrary, risks of pollutant leaching); etc. etc. Such topic will only be placed in this category if they are not presented in other Dmoz categories.
# Finally, it worth citing a few synonyms or related topics for "Soil Morphology, Classification or Survey"
- Digital Soil Mapping (this term embraces all the new computer-based quantitative techniques being developed for mapping soils);
- Soil geography;
- Land resources (Soils are only one of these resources);
- Pedology (closely, but not exclusively related to soil morphology, classification and survey);
- Pedogenesis (idem)
[please e-mail the category editor for any suggestion about this Description]
More information
More information
Sites 16
A short introduction to soil morphology (description) and a presentation of the 12 soil orders (US) and their genesis. University of Arizona, Soil, Water and Environmental Science, Craig Rasmussen.
[PDF]
A new digital soil map of Africa. Project leaded by the CIAT/CGIAR and financed by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
It is proposed that latisols (ultisols) are caused by the extremely alkaline midgut of humus eating termites.
Explains classification schemes in general with detailed description of Australian soil types, glossary and references.
Gives details of a CD-ROM of this name, a reference tool that allows the purchaser to allocate soil profiles to any level of the official Australian Soil Classification.
Interactive soil maps and information on soil resources in Australia, from national to local (soil profile) scale.
European soil related databases, maps, documents, publications, projects, news and mailing-list at the European Commission, Joint Research Centre.
A set of images to illustrate the soils of the arid part of Israel. Includes a description list of the soil groups in English and Hebrew. Also available is a conversion table from Dan's to both the USDA and FAO classification systems.
Datasets of soil properties (physical and chemical), at various scales. Distributed Active Archive Center, USA.
Principles and Techniques is a presentation on Soil Survey photography. [PowerPoint Presentation]
Provide site reports, GIS datasets and a free "Interactive Soilscapes Viewer" for UK soils National Soil Resource Institute, Cranfield University).
Lists soil surveys, survey programs, soil survey technology, standards, data and references.
Featuring soil information, ground penetrating radar, GIS, and soil profile photos.
Interactive soil maps and soil information in United States (data from National Cooperative Soil Survey).
Collection of (paper) soil maps, reports and imagery established by British soil scientists in various countries.
Description, characteristics, geography, landforms and genesis of the 30 Reference Soil Groups (WRB), grouped in 10 sets.
Lists soil surveys, survey programs, soil survey technology, standards, data and references.
Description, characteristics, geography, landforms and genesis of the 30 Reference Soil Groups (WRB), grouped in 10 sets.
Explains classification schemes in general with detailed description of Australian soil types, glossary and references.
A new digital soil map of Africa. Project leaded by the CIAT/CGIAR and financed by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
Datasets of soil properties (physical and chemical), at various scales. Distributed Active Archive Center, USA.
Interactive soil maps and information on soil resources in Australia, from national to local (soil profile) scale.
Provide site reports, GIS datasets and a free "Interactive Soilscapes Viewer" for UK soils National Soil Resource Institute, Cranfield University).
Interactive soil maps and soil information in United States (data from National Cooperative Soil Survey).
Collection of (paper) soil maps, reports and imagery established by British soil scientists in various countries.
A short introduction to soil morphology (description) and a presentation of the 12 soil orders (US) and their genesis. University of Arizona, Soil, Water and Environmental Science, Craig Rasmussen.
[PDF]
Gives details of a CD-ROM of this name, a reference tool that allows the purchaser to allocate soil profiles to any level of the official Australian Soil Classification.
A set of images to illustrate the soils of the arid part of Israel. Includes a description list of the soil groups in English and Hebrew. Also available is a conversion table from Dan's to both the USDA and FAO classification systems.
Featuring soil information, ground penetrating radar, GIS, and soil profile photos.
European soil related databases, maps, documents, publications, projects, news and mailing-list at the European Commission, Joint Research Centre.
It is proposed that latisols (ultisols) are caused by the extremely alkaline midgut of humus eating termites.
Principles and Techniques is a presentation on Soil Survey photography. [PowerPoint Presentation]
